A boat trip on Inle Lake

---

Inle Lake, a 20km long puddle, seems a lot smaller than it is. I hired a boat with Peter and Marion and within minutes we had arrived at the lake, but were motoring down a channel bordered at each side by floating vegetable gardens. The channel, which is a river that has been dredged into a channel, is a strong dark crimson from the mud, but on entering the lake, quickly becomes clear as the floating veges absorb the nutrients from the water. Just as well if you are one of the residents living on the lake.

We headed slowly across the lake towards one of the markets (there are several markets which all follow a five day rotating schedule - complicated for those of us living a seven day week, but logical for farmers and fishermen with five fingers and no weekends) enjoying the bird life and lake life on the way.

Being the hot season, there were very few tourists and not too many touts trying to sell souvenirs, so we had the run of the place.

After the market (see People at the market)we were taken to one tourist trap after another until we put a stop to it (see Inle for tourists). Our best stop was probably at an abandoned temple with a bunch of stupas in various states of decay and restoration (see A few pagodas on Inle Lake).

All in all it was a wonderful day on the very beautiful and magical lake. The only thing that did annoy us all was that we felt like camera toting tourists watching locals in their natural habitats. We were of course, but as travellers, we like to think of ourselves as something above package tourists and the like.

We did see a boatload of package tourists, poor things, and they looked remarkably similar to us. Amazing.

---

Photos

The outskirts of a village
In the lake, poor families have swimming pools while the rich actually build a backyard.

Hanging out the washing
Even the most mundane tasks here require a boat. Too bad if you are left home without one!

Tourist boat
You can tell Burmese tourists from Falangs: They don't have seats in their boats (we had deck chairs of course) and sport parasols in an effort to avoid looking like a native.

Vege garden
This tomato field is actually floating and anchored to the bottom with bamboo poles.

Birds
There were a bunch. The lake is actually a bird sanctuary, so it ain't quite as quiet and peaceful as you may think. But better bird noises than gun noises!

Fisherman
The locals use their feet to paddle, giving their arms a rest and freeing them up for the nets (and also to make them attractive to a photographer).

Floating temple
It's not actually floating, but you do need transport to get there, like anywhere, from your floating house.

Late afternoon angel rays
A boat sails past the angel rays to set up a Sunday school book picture.

Blue skies and red rivers
The river is pretty bright red here (even without the photoshop enhancements) and contrasts markedly with the floating green vege patch.